Artist Statement - Past and Present

Looking at the art works selected by Gilbert Taylor for this exhibition causes me to reflect back over my life as an artist. I see that my mission and my vision has not changed. My mission is to make art until I die, and my vision is to share my experiences as I travel through life, in a positive light.

As we tear down, we build
As we take, we give
As we find, we seek
As we die, we live

Emmitt and Medgar and Fannie Lou taught us how to persevere and to die. While we wait for someone to come along and teach us how to live. I make art that tells our story.

Art in this exhibition comes from a series of themes that I have worked with over the last twenty-five years (Songs for My Mother and Other Women Like Her, Come Walk with Me, Three Hugs a Day, The Blues the Way I Do, and For Whom the Bells Toll). These themes say that we are a social conscious, that we are political, that we have a work ethic. These themes say that we are compassionate. I love to pay respect to our ancestral heritage.

Come take a look into my life.

Ask questions!